The Kalyan unit of the Thane Crime Branch on Saturday arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly murdering his relative, a 19-year-old HSC student, whose body was recovered from an isolated spot in Dombivali on Friday morning.

The police said the accused had killed the victim after she became pregnant with his child. Identified as Sarvesh Kumar Verma, the accused is a cousin brother of the deceased’s mother, and had been employed with one of the three tailoring units run by the deceased’s father.

The victim went missing on Thursday evening, when she went to meet her tuition teacher to get some doubts cleared for her examination scheduled on Friday. After waiting till 10 pm on Thursday for her to return, the girl’s parents began to search for her and approached the Kolsewadi police station in Kalyan at midnight after they failed to trace her.

The police said they questioned several people who were known to the deceased, but could not get any leads. Officers said the deceased’s primary post mortem reports revealed that she was three months pregnant. “The first suspect was the father of the child. We questioned the victim’s friends and relatives,” said a senior police officer from the Kalyan unit.

The officer added that the accused had a wound on his right thumb, and when questioned about it, he kept misleading the police. “We then questioned him about his location on Thursday evening, but he kept changing statements which raised suspicion. He finally confessed on Friday, following which we arrested him,” the officer added.

Officers investigating the case alleged that Verma told them he killed the deceased to avoid social stigma in case his relationship with the girl came to light.

A few months ago, the victim allegedly told Verma that she was pregnant with his child, and had been asking him to help with an abortion. “On Thursday, when Verma met her, they entered into an altercation, following which Verma smothered her in a fit of rage. Pulling her inside the bushes, he then stabbed her thirteen times with a knife,” said B G Yashod, Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Thane crime branch.